Vermont H 618: An act relating to grooming a minor for purposes of human trafficking

Bill Text

BILL AS INTRODUCED H.618
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VT LEG #384998 v.2
H.618 1
Introduced by Representative McCann of Montpelier 2
Referred to Committee on 3
Date: 4
Subject: Education; school counselors 5
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to require school 6
counselors to spend 80 percent of their time providing direct or indirect 7
services to students. 8
An act relating to school counselors 9
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 10
Sec. 1. FINDINGS 11
The General Assembly finds: 12
(1) The American School Counselors Association (ASCA) National 13
Model recommends that school counselors spend 80 percent or more of their 14
time in direct and indirect services to students and not more than 20 percent of 15
their time in program planning and school support activities. The direct and 16
indirect activities should come from the duties appropriate to the role of the 17
school counselor rather than inappropriate duties assigned to school counselors 18
as listed in the 2019 ASCA National Model Executive Summary. 19

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(2) The 2020 ASCA State of the Profession study found that 39 percent 1
of school counselors were extremely challenged or challenged by being 2
assigned inappropriate duties. Requiring school counselors to serve as 504 3
coordinators, testing coordinators, substitute teachers, and more pulls them 4
away from direct student counseling services. 5
Sec. 2. 16 V.S.A. § 16 is added to read: 6
§ 16. SCHOOL COUNSELORS; DIRECT AND INDIRECT SERVICES 7
(a) As used in this section: 8
(1) “Direct services” means face-to-face or virtual interactions between 9
school counselors and students, providing developmental service focused on 10
supporting students’ academic, career, and social and emotional development 11
in accordance with the Vermont Comprehensive School Counselor 12
Framework. 13
(2) “Indirect services” means services provided by a school counselor 14
on behalf of students as a result of a school counselor’s interactions with the 15
students and others, in accordance with the Vermont Comprehensive School 16
Counselor Framework. 17
(3) “School counselor” means a person who is employed as a school 18
counselor in a school setting and who: 19
(A) is licensed as a school counselor pursuant to chapter 51 of this 20
title by the Standards Board for Professional Educations; or 21

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VT LEG #384998 v.2
(B) possesses a minimum of a master’s degree in an approved 1
program in guidance and counseling. 2
(4) “School support services” means services that are not direct or 3
indirect services as defined in this section and are outside the scope of the 4
Vermont Comprehensive School Counselor Framework. 5
(b) Each school counselor shall deliver a comprehensive school counseling 6
program in which the school counselor spends at least 80 percent of the school 7
counselor’s time providing direct services or indirect services to students and 8
spends not more than 20 percent of the school counselor’s time on school 9
support services. 10
Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE 11
This act shall take effect on July 1, 2026. 12